City outlines five-year housing plan

Blocks of tenement flats in HCM City's Tan Phu District provide 580 apartments to low-income people. The city plans to have grander housing facilities in the next five years. — VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

HCM CITY — A new report from the HCM City People's Committee envisions more high-rise buildings, improved infrastructure and the elimination of slums in the city by 2015.

The report outlines achievements of the housing development programme in the last four years and goals for the 2011-15 period.

One of the goals is to reduce population growth in districts 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh and Tan Phu.

A project to resettle families who live in slums along canals and and another to build new residential areas will be carried out over the next five years.

The Thanh Da Peninsula will be developed into a significant leisure centre and resort area, according to the city's report.

Old apartments, including the Nguyen Cu Trinh, Ngo Gia Tu (District 10), and Ly Thuong Kiet (District 11) buildings, will be replaced with high-rise complexes.

In addition, the city centre comprising districts 1, 3,4, and a part of Binh Thanh District will contain more modern buildings built with advanced technology.

The density of construction will be reduced in the city centre and green areas will be expanded.

The Nguyen Thien Thuat apartment building and Ly Thai To housing compound in District 3 will be refurbished and built into modern high-rise complexes, according to the report.

Infrastructure will be upgraded in District 1's Wards 4, 5, 6, Tan Dinh Ward's 28B Ma Lo area, Cau Kho Ward's Da Lu Vien area, and Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward's Ma Lang area.

The new urban area encompassing the districts of 2, 7, 9, 12, Thu Duc, Go Vap and Binh Tan will see large-scale comprehensive infrastructure and technology projects.

Limiting small-scale projects and single-house plots will also be another goal.

New urban areas

The new urban area will be developed in four main directions: east, northeast, south, and northwest.

The nuclei of the northeasten area will include a 913-ha high-tech park, 800-ha national universities area, 382-ha national historical and cultural area, and a 5,000-ha science and technology urban area.

Priority will also be given to social housing and dormitories for students at universities in District 9 and Thu Duc District.

The eastern area will form the 737-ha Thu Thiem urban area, the 1,600-ha Hiep Phuoc Port urban area in Nha Be District and the 826-ha Can Gio eco-urban area.

District 2 will contain 28 housing development projects with a total scale of 2,250ha, including the 437-ha residential quarter in Thanh My Loi Ward.

There will also be 58 housing development projects in Can Gio District with a total area of 5,511ha.

The southern area will focus on developing upscale housing in Sai Gon South (3,000ha in districts 7, 8, and Binh Chanh), and new residential quarters in District 7.

The nuclei of the northwest will be the 6,000-ha Tay Bac – Cu Chi urban area, and some residential quarters in districts 12, Binh Tan and Binh Chanh near industrial parks.

Social housing, houses for workers, and inexpensive housing for low-income families will also be located in the northwestern area. — VNS

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HCM City to increase housing space

HCM City targets building 39 million sq.m of new housing during the 2011-15 period, increasing its per capita housing area to 17 sq.m, the municipal People's Committee has announced.

The 2009 per capita housing area in the city was 14.3 sq.m.

At least 25 degraded apartment buildings with a combined floor area of 350,000sq.m in districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, Binh Thanh and Tan Binh will be rebuilt in the next five years.

By the end of 2015, the city will complete 11 housing projects with a total floor area of 453,000sq.m, consisting of nearly 4,700 apartments.

More than 22 hectares will be set aside for developing seven low-income housing projects with 10,000 apartments having a combined floor area of 837,000sq.m.

These plans include nine projects that will accommodate 67,700 workers and 13,700 students.

The city will also relocate more than 13,200 households living along canals by the end of 2015. Of these, 4,500 households living along canals in districts 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and Binh Thanh will be resettled during the next two years and the remaining 8,700 households will be relocated by the end of 2015.

The city has proposed that the Government amend the Housing Law to allow social housing projects to be developed in accordance with height restrictions on apartment buildings in the city, removing the current six-storey limit.

It has also proposed changes in the eligibility conditions for buying or renting low-income apartments during the five-year plan period, raising the limit from below five sq.m per person to 10sq.m./.

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City to increase housing space

HCM CITY— The city targets building 39 million square metres of new housing during the 2011-15 period, increasing its per capita housing area to 17 square metres, the municipal People's Committee has announced.

The 2009 per capita housing area in the city was 14.3sq.m.

At least 25 degraded apartment buildings with a combined floor area of 350,000sq.m in districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, Binh Thanh and Tan Binh will be rebuilt in the next five years.

By the end of 2015, the city will complete 11 housing projects with a total floor area of 453,000sq.m, consisting of nearly 4,700 apartments.

More than 22 hectares will be set aside for developing seven low-income housing projects with 10,000 apartments having a combined floor area of 837,000sq.m.

These plans include nine projects that will accommodate 67,700 workers and 13,700 students.

The city will also relocate more than 13,200 households living along canals by the end of 2015. Of these, 4,500 households living along canals in district 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and Binh Thanh will be resettled during the next two years and the remaining 8,700 households will be relocated by the end of 2015.

The city has proposed that the Government amend the Housing Law to allow social housing projects to be developed in accordance with height restrictions on apartment buildings in the city, removing the current six-storey limit.

It has also proposed changes in the eligibility conditions for buying or renting low-income apartments during the five-year plan period, raising the limit from below five sq.m per person to 10sq.m. — VNS

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Low-cost housing projects gear up

Apartments for low-income earners in the town of Vinh Yen in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. – VNS Photo Tuan Anh

HA NOI — Over 100 low-income housing projects are planned or under construction, but would-be residents are still waiting on specific guidelines on how to qualify for the more affordable accommodations.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said the number of projects reflected the great effort of businesses in executing the Government's public housing programme.

The programme, commenced last year, aims to provide affordable housing for 60 per cent of college and university students and a half of all industrial park workers by 2015. The country currently has about 1.5 million industrial park workers and 33 million students at universities and colleges.

Nguyen Quoc Tuan, deputy director of Ha Noi's construction department, said the number of students in the city would reach a million by 2015. Around 60 per cent would need dormitory housing, creating demand for 75,000 apartments at an occupancy of eight students per apartment.

Thirty projects for workers have begun, at a total estimated investment of VND2.6 trillion (US$134 million), according to the construction ministry. With a total area of 750,000sq.m, these projects are expected to provide accommodation for nearly 125,000 workers by next year.

Another 55,000 low-income earners have already been provided housing in 33 projects with a total area of 655,000sq.m, Nam said.

"Housing projects with prices of VND7-10 million ($360-515) per square metre in Ha Noi, even in the face of increasing building materials prices, can be seen as a positive sign to lower the average cost of housing closer to the people," he said.

A high annual urbanisation rate of 25 to 30 per cent resulted in a housing shortage in urban areas, Nam added, making the issue of affordable housing increasingly urgent.

Prices of VND350-500 million ($18-25,770) per 35-65sq.m apartment represent a huge burden on people with low incomes, Nam admitted.

"However, people will be able to pay through mortages over 20 years at favourable interest rates," he said, adding that it would be difficult to ask businesses to provide lower prices under current market conditions.

The ministry would continue to seek more preferential policies on land use rights, taxes and administrative procedures for enterprises taking part in public housing programmes, Nam said.

Builders would also be allowed to increase building density up to 1.5 times more than usual and borrow 70 per cent of the total costs of a project from the Viet Nam Development Bank, he added.

Nguyen Minh Tuan, deputy director of Viglacera, which is building 1,000 low-cost housing units in the capital city's Gia Lam District, said Viglacera had been given favourable conditions in developing public housing.

The time for administrative approvals of public housing projects has also been reduced sharply, Tuan said.

Prospective home buyers were still encountering difficulties buying low-cost housing, however.

Do Manh Hung of Ha Noi's Ha Dong District said he was still fumbling to complete the necessary procedures to buy a low-cost house in the Ngo Thi Nham project being developed by Vinaconex Xuan Mai Concrete and Construction Joint Stock Co.

"Criteria to define who is a low-income earner have not been stipulated," Hung said. "The city's construction department would not accept my application."

Nam agreed the reason was that some localities had not completed criteria to define people who were eligible for buying the houses.

Vinaconex Xuan Mai general director Dang Hoang Huy agreed that local governments had not yet promulgated regulations to clarify who was eligible to buy low-cost housing.

"Investors want to sell their apartments," said Huy. "The matter is that we should have complete planning."

Nam said the ministry would issue criteria defining eligibity for those with monthly incomes of less than VND5 million ($258). — VNS

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